The next day, Dean and the twins meet with the town elders to discuss the boys' future.
"Come on in." says Palma.
Dean and the twins walk into the small room, furnished with only two desks, a long couch, and a few paintings, and sit down.
"Hello, boys. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nim, and I'm an Elder here in Ironwood."
"And I am Ironwood's second Elder, Palma. And you are?"
"My name is Kian, and this is my twin brother Kye."
"Hello…" Kye says quietly.
"Tell me, boys, do you know what a town Elder is and what our job is?" Palma asks.
The boys shake their heads no.
"A town Elder is someone voted in by the village people every year. Our job is to oversee things like trades with other villages and towns, managing the town's money and even its military."
"However, our most important job is making sure every one of our people feels safe and welcome here in Ironwood." adds Nim, "I know you boys have been through and seen a lot of things that someone your age should never see, and I sincerely apologize that you had to have such a gruesome experience. Do you have any family outside of Oakney?"
"No, everyone we knew lived there with us." replies Kian.
"Well then, that narrows down our options." says Palma.
"What's going to happen to us?" asks Kye.
"Well, seeing as you two don't have any family you could stay with, you'll have to live in the homeless shelter for now."
"A homeless shelter… We can't live in a homeless shelter!"
Kian covers Kye's mouth with his hands. "Kye, just be grateful we'll have a place to stay! It's better than dying out on our own. Sorry about my brother."
"It's fine, we understand, but we have no other options." says Nim.
Dean stands up and walks to the window. "There is one other option."
"Oh, and what's that Dean?"
"What if I take the boys in? Well, me and my daughter."
Kye and Kian get excited.
"We could never ask you to do that." says Palma, "You don't have to do this."
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. I was a friend of their father; what kind of person would I be not to help out?"
"I see no problem with this." says Nim, "That is if you boys are okay with it."
"Are you kidding me? He saved our lives! Of course, I want to stay with him!" shouts Kye.
"And I'd like to repay him someday." says Kian, "But are you sure, Mr. Dean? Kye can be a real drag sometimes."
"A drag!? Who are you calling a drag!?"
"Hohoho, of course, I'm sure." replies Dean, "I already talked to my daughter last night. She’s very excited to meet you two."
Palma sighs. "Since everyone is okay with it, I guess it's settled. From today on, Kye and Kian will be in your care, Dean. I wish you all the best."
"Thank you, Elders." Dean bows to the Elders as a sign of respect, and the twins stand and copy him. "Well, boys, shall we go?"
"Yeah, let's go!" shouts Kye, "Onward to Ticu! Wait, uh, where is Ticu again?"
"Ticu's just a short train ride away. The next train should arrive around eleven, so let's hurry to the station."
"Goodbye, Elders!"
Dean and the twins leave for the train station.
"Those poor children, I took everything from them." says Palma, "I'll have to apologize someday properly."
"There's no need for that, Palma. I feel those two will end up quite alright."
"I sure hope so, I really do."
The group gets to the station and boards the next train. A short hour and a half ride later, they arrive in Ticu, and Dean leads the way to his house, a dark red, two-story building with a chimney.
"This house is huge!" says Kye, "Are you rich or something?"
"Hohoho, I wouldn't say that I'm rich." replies Dean, "I consider myself extremely blessed by Lady Una that I own all of my possessions. Now, are you two ready to go inside?"
"Mr. Clarke, are you positive we'll be welcome here?" asks Kian, "What if we take up too much space?"
"Nonsense, young Kian. I told you I talked to my daughter yesterday. She even bought a bunk bed for you this morning."
"Yeah, come on, Kian. It'll be fine!"
"Well, okay, if you say so. I'm ready."
"Go ahead and ring the doorbell then."
Kian presses the doorbell, and it dings loud enough for them to hear it through the door.
"I'll be right there!" A lady says from inside, "One second!"
The door opens, and Daisy stands in the doorway.
*Daisy Clarke, Dean's only daughter, is a 29-year-old bakery owner. She is 5 foot 5 inches tall, wears her brown hair in a long ponytail, and has on a pair of black glasses. Being infertile, Daisy is unable to have kids, so when Dean brought up the idea of adopting the twins, she agreed immediately.*
"Oh my, you must be Kye and Kia; I’ve been so excited to meet you two!" says Daisy, "My name's Dais; I run a bakery in town, so I'll have plenty of delicious food for you to eat!"
"Nice to meet you!" says Kye.
"Hello, thanks for letting us stay here." says Kian.
"Oh, no need to thank me. I love taking care of kids! Speaking of which, I watch my friend's son from her when she's at work, and he's here now. Why don't you get to know him? Come on in and make yourself at home!"
The twins walk in and sit on the couch. The cozy living room is decorated with plenty of family pictures, a big TV, and a nice fireplace.
"Jackson!" calls Daisy, "Could you come down for a second?"
"Coming, ma'am!"
A skinny little boy with red glasses runs down the stairs.
"Jackson, these are the two boys I mentioned earlier, Kye and Kian." says Daisy, "Get to know them while I start on food."
"Hi, my name's Jackson!" Jackson reaches out and shakes the twins' hands.
"Hello." says Kian.
"Nice to meet you, Jackson." says Kye.
"Um, Mr. Dean?"
"Yes, Jackson?"
"How exactly can you tell the two apart?" Jackson moves his scruffy brown hair out of the way of his bright red glasses, "They look the same."
"Hohoho, I also struggled with that for a bit. But look closely; Kye's hair naturally swoops to the left, and Kian's hair swoops to the right."
Jackson leans in towards Kian's face and then to Kye's. "You're right!"
"Hey Jackson, could you not get that close again…" says Kian.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! I was just-"
Kye laughs. "Don't worry, he's not upset. Kian just likes his personal space."
"Yeah, it's just a personal thing." says Kian, "It's okay."
"Maybe you should go show them their room." says Dean.
"Right! C'mon guys, our room is upstairs!"
"Our room? You live here too?" asks Kian.
"Oh, no. But I'm over here often, so I have a bed upstairs."
Jackson leads the twins to the room, where a new bunk bed has just been built, and clothes for each of them are neatly stacked on a dresser. It takes some time, but Kye and Kian eventually become comfortable enough to feel at home. For the next couple of years, Dean trains the three young boys in basic hand-to-hand combat, making them all strive to become official Warriors.
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